A Modern Family Essays

A Modern Family Essays A Modern Family Essay A Modern Family Essay A Modern Family The situation comedy on television that I choose to study, which I believe highlights family values and functions, is ABC’s â€Å"Modern Family†. As the title suggests this is based on what we might perceive as the current, everyday family. I have watched this show with mixed emotions since its inception but these are only my observations about the show, no one can know what the writer’s background is and from what mindset they are coming from. The show is about the â€Å"New† version of your basic family tree, but being a modern version there are several differences from an â€Å"Ossie Harriett† family show. They give us as many of the different types of family dynamics as possible in a thirty minute program. We have the patriarch of the family as a divorced older man with a second marriage to a younger woman. It doesn’t hurt that the younger women is a Latin bombshell with a young son. This shows to me the almost typical family with divorce being common place in our society. Then you have the patriarch’s married daughter with an adolescent acting husband and several children living at home. Last but not least, we have the patriarch’s gay son and life partner with their adopted Asian daughter. Sadly this just shows to me that society accepts this behavior as normal, not the abomination it is according to the Bible, adoption is a beautiful thing but why do they ruin it by having a to portray a gay couple. Just as an example, one episode reflects on the family’s reaction to the children of the married daughter walking in on their parents having sex. Of course the kids freak out and claim they are scared for life and the parents freak out because they remember being scared by seeing the same thing with their own parents but the kids come to the realization that at least their parents are together and still â€Å"doing it†, unlike many of their friends whose parents are no longer together. The married daughter talks with her father about the reasons why he never spoke with her about the same situation when she was young. He admits that they just didn’t communicate with their kids like parents do today. This sitcom does try to deliver the concept of togetherness in family, support for one another and the tightness that family bonds can bring. A unique use of confessional interviews gives us an insight into what the individuals are really thinking. They talk to an unknown cameraperson about what they were really thinking or doing instead of what we actually saw on camera. The â€Å"mockumentary† style gives the viewer the real skinny on what’s happening. This mocking part of the show does give a little negativity to the program, because it shows how the family member might not actually like what just happened or was said but they truly did not confront the other family member. â€Å"Modern Family† seems to focus more on how the families interact with one another, more so then how they interact with the outside world. They do cover some if not all your typical family values but unfortunately they are worldly based not Godly based values, so we have all the worldly negative influences. They have â€Å"good† messages each program but not â€Å"Godly† messages. I wouldn’t say that this program has had a positive or negative influence on my personal view of what a family is, it’s just shown me more so how callous we as a society have become to many of the Biblical teachings, in the name of entertainment.

Gallipoli essays

Gallipoli essays Gallipoli (Feb 19 1915 Jan 9 1916) was an Allied campaign to capture the Turkish capital Constantinople and wrest control of the strategically invaluable Dardanelles straits, thus allowing supply lines to run through the the cut-off Russians. The first planned attack was a British/French naval assault on February 19 1915. It bombarded Turkish artillery along the coast but had very little effect. A new attack was launched on March 18 targeting a bottleneck in the Dardanelles. It suceesfully destroyed many Turkish artillery targets, but the fleet ran into an uncharted minefield and lost three battleships, prompting the allies to withdraw their naval force. After the deemed failure of the naval campaign, the allies decided to attempt a land invasion. Australian and New Zealand soldiers stationed in Egypt formed the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and were sent to land on a point approximately one mile north of Gaba Tepe. However, poor planning caused them to land a mile and a half further north than planned, in a cove today known as Anzac Cove. The Anzacs were faced with a difficult battle from the onset cliffs and ravines forming the terrain made it difficult to progress. They were beaten to the high ground by Mustafa Kemals reinforcements, who launched a counter-attack. The Anzacs were pinned on the beaches and lost a third of their forces, but maintained their position. Soon enough, trenches were established and both sides quickly began to reach a stalemate. The soldiers daily routine included breakfast, rifle and ammo cleaning, patrol and trench maintenance, and then a midday meal. Afterwards, the soldiers concentrated on sanitation, and then an evening meal. During the night when soldiers patrolled enemy positions, repaired or extended barbed wire, or dug new trenches, Turkish snipers were most active. During the day, it was risky for soldiers to raise their heads above the parapet line ...

Customer Data and Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Customer Data and Analysis - Essay Example Indeed it is often referred to as a categorical scale. It is a system of classification and does not place the entity along a continuum. The hardest of the four levels to explain is interval level data. Let's imagine a very real example - teacher evaluations. On a five-point scale, a teacher getting a four is not twice as good as a teacher getting a two, and yet the numbers involved here can be treated differently than the numbers used in the rankings of the ordinal-level examples. Temperature, measured in degrees Fahrenheit, can also be effectively used as an example because forty degrees F is not twice as hot as twenty degrees F. Ratio data. Given the fact that this presentation of the idea of levels of measurement has been progressive, the simplest example to use, especially to highlight the idea of an absolute or meaningful zero, is money. Taking one's wallet out and removing from it a ten-dollar bill, then a second ten reinforces the concept that twenty is twice ten. Following that with showing an empty wallet highlights the real meaning of an absolute zero in a way you will not forget. While you sleep competitors are compiling information on your potential customers. They know their names, addresses, and telephone numbers. They know their professions, birthdays, the goods and stuffs they may be looking to buy in the near future. How do your competitors find out this information They ask, and more importantly they use the information they gather to learn more about these customers - and to establish an individual 'relationship' with them. The marketplace is now demanding this "mass customization" approach. Carol Krol (1999, p.2) claimed that the relationship marketing process has picked up steam because of the fragmentation of media, increasing channels of communication, and consumer choice availability. The sales analysis and reporting system provides the ability to report and analyze sales, rejections, up traffic, staff close-rates, average tickets, and overall performance contributions to the store. Let's take an example of a really national Britain hypermarket Tesco. This company sails one third of all foodstuffs in the country substantially thanks to marketing to individuals! Tesco set close cooperation with University College London. The scientists offered new methods of gathering, checking, collating, review, storage, access, retrieval and update of statistics information of retail sells. Fed every second by Tesco's 12 million Clubcard holders, the Crucible database could in theory generate about 12 billion pieces of data a year if each cardholder bought just 20 items a week. This information is analyzed very attentively. Tesco's customer relationship management system (CRMS) helps managers to

Smoking Ban Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Smoking Ban - Case Study Example If these laws are in acted, the majority of the society or the 80% of the adults who do not smoke will benefit as their exposure to cigarette smoke and its harmful effects will be reduced. 2. A state should have the moral as well as the legal right to decide about the areas where smokers can smoke. This is because the state has a duty of care towards its citizens. According to the ethical theory of care an individual should make decisions while taking into consideration the people they are supposed to care about (Iep.utm.edu, 2014). The state and its representative have taken oath to make rules and regulations in order to protect its citizens and thus they have a duty of care to protect the citizens. Based on these principles, the state should implement such laws in order to protect its citizens from the harmful effects of cigarette smoking. 3. One alternative to a total smoking ban as discussed in the case is the allocation of a separate area to the smokers so they can smoke without disturbing or risking the health of others. Organizations such as restaurants and bars can develop a separate area for those smokers who want to smoke and for those who do not smoke. Secondly, a total ban on smoking in enclosed areas and allowance of smoking in open areas can even be a useful option. 4. There are various steps that the law has dictated that can be taken by an organization to demotivate employees from smoking within the premises of the organization. These steps include the exhibition of signs on the entrance of the organization that state that on premises smoking is not allowed. Secondly, signs should even be placed on the door of the areas where smoking is permitted. These guidelines have been clearly stipulated in the laws of the California Indoor Clean Air Act that was enacted during the period of 1976 (Smoking.uslegal.com, 2014). 5. Cigarette smoking should not be banned completely or cigarette smoking should not be considered as an illegal act.

Imagination & Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Imagination & Identity - Essay Example From the time that one is young, there is a perception and specific reality that is created in terms of identity. Imaginary worlds and friends are some of the main concepts that are applied to this and which create a specific sense of what it means to belong to a specific identity or group. â€Å"Most under – sevens have an invisible friend, and children create their imaginary playmates not out of trauma but out of a serene sense of the possibilities of fiction – sometimes as figures of pure fantasy, sometimes, as observations of grownup manners† (Gopnik, 253). The ability to create an identity and sense of reality through imagination and by mimicking the identity of others is one which can then be expected to stay with children while growing older. This reality and vision is one which is combined not only with ideas of fiction but also with expectations of what one is to become. â€Å"We were always about becoming, not being, about the prospects for the future, not about the inheritance of the past† (Lapham, 45). Both of these articles agree that there is the need to create something from the imagination and to keep depicting that specific reality. The fiction then becomes a sense of identity that one grows into, either by imagining something, mimicking adult behaviors or by believing what one should be. The concept of building a reality out of imagination then leads into the capacity of creating identity. The creation of identity moves beyond the labels in which one holds, such as being a New Yorker or a scientist. More important, are behaviors and mannerisms that are associated with the identity and labels which one believes they have. For instance, when defining New Yorkers, the identity becomes: â€Å"New Yorkers are busy for obvious reasons: they have husbands and wives and careers and children they have the Gauguin show to see and their personal trainers and

Coincidence Counting With NAI Scintillation Detectors

Coincidence Counting With NAI Scintillation Detectors ABSTRACT Coincidence counting is a technique employed in nuclear medicine for PET imaging. This technique utilizes a positron emitting radionuclide that is injected into patients to track biochemical and physiological processes. The positron annihilates with an electron and emit two 0.511MeV gamma rays which are detected simultaneously by two scintillation detectors. In the experiment, two gamma ray sources, 60Co and 22Na were used with a NaI scintillation counter. A single channel analyzer (SCA) was used to count the number of voltage pulses whose height fell within the gate width. The absolute efficiency and intrinsic efficiency was obtained as a function of distance. Real and random coincidences were determined from the spectrum obtained with varying gate width and gate delay for each source. The optimum gate width obtained was 5 µsec for both sources with gate delays of 1.2 µsec and 0.2 µsec for 22Na and 60Co respectively. The real coincidences for 22Na and 60Co were found to be 200 .1  ± 2.3 and 76.5  ± 1.7 respectively. The random coincidences obtained were 25.1  ± 3.4 and 13.4  ± 2.6 for 22Na and 60Co respectively. This was determined by using the LINEST function. The percentage thus of random to real coincidences obtained in this experiment was 12.54  ± 1.85 % and 17.52  ± 3.81 % for 22Na and 60Co respectively. It was deduced that the uncertainty in determining a random coincidence was higher in 60Co than in 22Na. the magnitude of the uncertainty is as a result of fluctuations in the instrumentation. Hence the Na system is more efficient for coincidence counting and so it is useful in the PET system. INTRODUCTION Coincident counting is a radiological measuring technique that is utilised in the nuclear medicine in the PET scan whereby two photons emitted from an event are detected simultaneously by a ring of detectors. Sodium Fluoride (F18-NaF) is the positron-emitting radionuclide employed in PET for bone imaging [1]. Upon decay, the positron are emitted which travels for a short distance and under Compton’s scattering thereby loosing most of its energy. It then undergoes annihilation with an electron and emit two high energy 0.511MeV photons. The 0.511MeV photons are emitted 180 degrees apart and interact with the PET detector rings at opposite sites. [2] The detectors are made up of scintillation crystals coupled with photomultiplier tubes powered by a high voltage which produces a pulse with a height proportional to the gamma-ray energy. A SCA counts the number of voltage pulses whose height falls within a predetermined window of photon energies. Coincidence measurement is utilised when a single detector cannot produce all the information expected, as gamma rays are randomly produced, hence the need to set several detectors. Real coincidences occur when two photons are emitted in coincidence from the same annihilation event and are detected simultaneously within a certain time frame set by the gate width. Random coincidences occur when two photons emitted from different events are detected simultaneously within the time frame of the gate width. [3] The gate width determines the time window within which the simultaneous emission of the gammas are detected. The optimum gate width therefore will ensure that the maximum number of real coincidences are detected to minimise the events of random coincidences. In the ideal situation when the gate width is zero the real coincidences can be observed, and with an increase in gate width the random coincidences can be observed. In the PET scan, this will ensure efficiency of the coincidence system. The need for the gate delay is to enable the second pulse to be detected within the time frame of the gate width and this is usually a minute time frame. It takes into account the minute fluctuations that occur at time of pulses. By alternating the gate delay and gate width, the rate of coincidence can be determined. In this experiment the two sources used were 60Co and 22Na. 60Co emit two gamma rays upon beta decay at energies 1.3325Mev and 1.1732MeV with 60Ni daughter nuclide. The 22Na undergoes a beta decay and electron capture decay with the emission of a 1.275MeV gamma photons and two 0.511Mev upon interactions with the detector material. The positron from the beta decay of 22Na annihilates an electron of the detector and emit the two gammas at 0.511Mev energies at 1800. The coincidence counting system records just a certain portion of events depending on the solid angle as a function of distance. Coincidence counting as a function of distance is maximum in the middle and zero at the edge [4]. The photons can undergo several interactions in the detector before they are detected and that render the detector inefficient and so there is the need for its efficiency to be determined. The efficiency can be classed into two as absolute and intrinsic efficiencies and they are defined as Absolute efficiency ÃŽ µabs = Number of pulses recorded [3] Number of radiation quanta emitted by source Intrinsic efficiency ÃŽ µint = Number of pulses recorded [3] Number of radiation quanta incident on detector These efficiencies are related by ÃŽ µint = ÃŽ µabs * (4à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  /à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦) [3] where à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦ is the solid angle of the between source and detector. The solid angle is dependent on the distance between source and detector (d) and the radius of the detector (r) and it is determined by the this equation, à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦ = 2à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬   1 d [3] √d2 + r2 To determine the efficiency of the coincidence system, the absolute efficiency for real and random coincidences were also determined for both sources based on the equations below. ÃŽ µabs for real coincidences for 22Na = ÃŽ µabs * ÃŽ µint ÃŽ µabs for random coincidences for 22Na = (ÃŽ µabs)2 * Activity * Intensity * Time ÃŽ µabs for real coincidences for 60Co = ÃŽ µabs * ÃŽ µabs ÃŽ µabs for random coincidences for 60Co = (ÃŽ µabs)2 * Activity * Intensity * Time METHOD Two NaI detectors coupled with photomultipliers with high voltages and preamplifiers were used for this experiment. The inputs were connected to spectroscopic and SCA amplifiers. Detector 1 was first corrected for background by counting for 5 minutes. The 22Na gamma ray source was varied with distance and the absolute efficiency of the detector was determined as a result. Detector 2 was introduced and set at a distance of 10cm apart from Detector 1. 22Na was positioned in the middle and the counting was set to 5 minutes. The gate width and gate delay were varied and their spectrum observed. The experiment was repeated for the second gamma ray source, 60Co. The optimum gate delay was determined and varied with the gate width to obtain the optimum gate width. A linear graph of count rate against gate width was obtained that showed the real and random coincidences based on the slope gradient obtained. The percentage ratio of the random to real coincidences were determined and the uncertainty associated with the experiment was also determined. RESULTS/DISCUSSION The background spectrum was corrected in the count reading for both sources. The background radiation is as a result of scattered radiation associated with the experiment. The absolute efficiency of the detector was determined for both sources as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 and Table 1a 1b and Table 2a 2b for 22Na and 60Co respectively. The absolute efficiency was obtained using the formula Absolute efficiency = Sum of count Intensity x Activity Figure 1: Absolute efficiency as a function of the distance between the 22Na source and detector Figure 2: Absolute efficiency as a function of distance between the 60Co source and detector The 22Na revealed a gradual decrease in efficiency with increasing distance, whereas 60Co revealed a rapid drop in efficiency as a function of distance. 60Co revealed lower absolute efficiencies since the measure of the number of pulses obtained by the 60Co was less than the number of photons emitted by the gamma ray source. This could have been due to Compton scattering reducing the number of photons actually detected as a pulse. The 22Na however revealed quite high absolute efficiencies and so can be confirmed that the detector was efficient in detecting the 22Na than the 60Co. The intrinsic efficiency was determined using the equation below. ÃŽ µint = ÃŽ µabs * (4à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  /à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦) The solid angle was determined for the detector when the distance between both detectors was varied between 5cm to 20cm and the radius of the detector was measured as 10cm. This is shown in Tables 3 and 4 and Figures 3 and 4 for 22Na and 60Co respectively. Figure 3: Intrinsic efficiency as a function of distance between the 22Na source and detector Figure 4: Intrinsic efficiency as a function of distance between the 60Co source and detector The intrinsic efficiency for 60Co was lower than 22Na. It can be deduced that the number of 60Co photons incident on the detector was more than the number of pulses recorded. Hence signifying that the detector was not efficient in detecting the 60Co. The 22Na however displayed high intrinsic efficiency almost approximating the maximum value for intrinsic efficiency. The intrinsic efficiency were found to be fluctuating with the highest being 0.9898 and 0.3872 with a solid angle of 1.3029 at 13cm distance from detector for 22Na and 60Co respectively. This is as result of the detector’s geometry detecting the photons at different solid angles. The solid angle determines how much of the photons can be detected as a function of distance. The overlap of the error bars signifies the uniformity of the errors. The probability of a 0.511MeV gamma travelling in the direction of the detector and being absorbed by it, will imply that the second 0.511MeV will also travel in the correct direction. Both detectors detecting the two 0.511MeV gammas can be determined to yield the absolute efficiency for real coincidences. This can be deduced from the notion that photons travelling in the right direction will be absorbed in the right direction by both detectors. The results of absolute efficiencies for real and random coincidences for 22Na and 60Co is shown in Table 5 6 and Figure 5, 6, 7 8. The efficiencies for both sources decreased with distance and it was lower for 60Co. The absolute efficiency for random coincidences was however for both sources than the absolute efficiency for real coincidences. It can thus be inferred that the absolute efficiencies for real coincidences for both 22Na and 60Co yields less probability of detection of real coincidence with 60Co as compared to the 22Na. The abso lute efficiencies for random coincidences was however comparable for both sources as the probability of detecting the second event within the gate width is possible for both sources. Figure 5: Absolute efficiency for real coincidences as a function of distance for 22Na Figure 6: Absolute efficiency for random coincidences as a function of distance for 22Na Figure 7: Absolute efficiency for real coincidences as a function of distance for 60Co Figure 8: Absolute efficiency for random coincidences as a function of distance for 60Co The gate delay was varied with gate width to obtain the optimum values of delay and width. The optimum gate delay was obtained as 1.2 µsec and 0.2 µsec for both 22Na and 60Co respectively and was used for the experiment. A linear graph of count rate as a function of gate width was obtained and a fixed gate width was obtained as shown in Figure 5 and 6 and table 7 and 8 Figure 5: A linear graph of count rate as a function of gate width applying a 1.2 µsec gate delay for 22Na Figure 6: A linear graph of count rate as a function of gate width by applying a 0.2 µsec gate delay for 60Co Real coincidences occur on the intercept of the linear slope gradient, whereas random coincidences can be found with the slope. For 22Na the optimum gate width obtained was 5 µsec. The graph of count rate as a function of gate width yielded a slope gradient of y = 5.019x + 200.15. By applying the optimum gate width and correcting for the gate delay, the real and random coincidences were determined using the LINEST function. The real coincidences was found to be 200  ± 2.3 whereas the random coincidences was found to be 25.1  ± 3.4. The percentage thus of random to real coincidences obtained in this experiment was 12.54  ± 1.85 %. This gives the value of pure coincidences that are not dependent on gate width. For 60Co, the optimum gate width was 5 µsec. The graph of count rate as a function of gate width yielded a slope gradient of y = 2.6801x + 76.483. When the optimum gate width was applied whilst correcting for the minute gate delay, the real and random coincidences were determined using the LINEST function. The real coincidences was found to be 76.5  ± 1.7 whereas the random coincidences was found to be 13.4  ± 2.6. The percentage of random to real coincidences obtained in this experiment was 17.52  ± 3.81 %. The above results was compared with the measured values obtained from the graph. The intercept gave the real coincidences as 200.15 and 76.48 for 22Na and 60Co respectively. The point of data convergence on the straight line gave the optimum gate width and the count equivalent was found as 225.28 and 90.02 for 22Na and 60Co respectively. The difference between this value and the real coincidences yielded the random coincidences as 25.13 and 13.56 in 22Na and 60Co respectively. Hence the percentage ratio of the random and real coincidences was obtained as 12.49% and 17.73%. This is equivalent to the values obtained from the calculated coincidences with the differences being due to uncertainties. The uncertainties with this experiment were with the NaI detector which contributed to scatter around the cover. The count rates resulted in some uncertainties as well and has been sown in table 8 for both detectors. The solid angle presented an uncertainty as the measurements for the detector could incur a large margin of errors. From all the results synthesized for both sources it could be gathered that the 22Na was an efficient source for coincidence counting compared to the 60Co. This is as a result of the geometry of the detectors as the Co system does not show a coincidence system and so there is more likelihood of a random coincidence than a real coincidence as compared to the Na system. This concludes that the 22Na will be efficient in a PET system, hence the reason for positron emitting radioisotopes being used in the PET system to ensure the maximum number of coincidences are being detected CONCLUSION The experiment was performed to examine the coincidence counting in two gamma ray sources and to determine the real and random coincidences as a function of gate width. The optimum gate width obtained was 5 µsec for both sources with gate delays of 1.2 µsec and 0.2 µsec for 22Na and 60Co respectively. The real coincidences for 22Na and 60Co were found to be 200.1  ± 2.3 and 76.5  ± 1.7 respectively. The random coincidences obtained were 25.1  ± 3.4 and 13.4  ± 2.6 for 22Na and 60Co respectively. This was determined by using the LINEST function. The measured count rates was also determined from the graph and resulted in real coincidences for 22Na and 60Co respectively as 200.15 and 76. 48 and random coincidences of 25.13 and 13.56. The percentage thus of random to real coincidences obtained in this experiment was 12.54  ± 1.85 % and 17.52  ± 3.81 % for 22Na and 60Co respectively. This gave the quality of the uncertainty in the coincidence system. It was deduced that the uncertainties in determining a random was higher in 60Co than in 22Na hence the Na system is more efficient for coincidence counting and very useful in the PET system. REFERENCES [1] The detection of bone metastases in patients with high-risk prostate cancer:99mTc-MDP planar bone scintigraphy, single- and multi-field-of-view SPECT,18F-fluoride PET, and18F-fluoride PET/CT.Even-Sapir et al, J Nucl Med(2006)47:287–97 [2] The Physics of Medical Imaging, ed. S. Webb. IoP publishing [3] Radiation and Detection Measurement, Glen N Knoll, 3rd Edition [4] Coincidence Counting, E. K. A. Advanced Physics Laboratory, Physics 3081, 4051 APPENDIXES Table 1a: Counts rate as a function of distance between source and detector for 22Na Table 1b: Absolute efficiency as a function of distance between source and detector for 22Na Table 2a: Counts rate as a function of distance between source and detector for 60Co Table 2b: Absolute efficiency as a function of distance between source and detector for 60Co Table 3: Intrinsic efficiency as a function of distance between source and detector of 22Na Table 4: Intrinsic efficiency as a function of distance between source and detector for 60Co Table 5: ÃŽ µabs for real and random coincidences as a function of distance for 22Na Distance(cm) ÃŽ µabs à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦ 4à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬   ÃŽ µint ÃŽ µabs for real coincidences ÃŽ µabs for random coincidences 5 0.09940 3.473 12.57 0.35967 0.0994 48.7255 10 0.05091 1.8403 12.57 0.347637 0.0509 12.8015 13 0.04015 1.3029

J Sainsbury PLC :: Business and Management Studies

J Sainsbury PLC INTRODUCTION J Sainsbury PLC is one of the leading food retailers in the UK and also has interests in financial services. It comprises of Sainsbury's Supermarkets, Bells Stores, Jackson's Stores and Sainsbury's Bank. There are currently 583 Sainsbury’s supermarkets throughout the UK employing over 145,000 people, offering over 34,000 products and serving over 11 million customers a week. It is for these reasons that careful management of operations within each of the stores is vital to ensure that all processes are kept running smoothly so that customers can be served and products can be replenished. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES Customers want a quality service when they shop. A quality service is defined as ‘a service that consistently meets or exceeds a customers expectations’. The supermarket needs to look at the current value of a customer – how can they make this person spend as much money as possible in the store. They also need to look at the future value of the customer – how can they make sure that this person will return, when they will spend more. The objectives of the supermarket need to be looked at and worked towards very carefully. The diagram below shows the main performance objectives that are worked towards in the supermarket. Things operations should do†¦ Objective Provide error free goods and services Quality Minimise lead time Speed Keep delivery promises Dependability Adapt to change in circumstances Flexibility Minimise cost Cost Dr Andi Smart, University of Exeter For the customer to have a hassle free shopping experience then most, if not all, of these objectives need to be met. The first, and arguably the most important, objective in the store is quality. It is important because it is the most visible part of what operations do and therefore customers are easily able to make judgements on quality. In real terms inside the supermarket this means ensuring that products are in good condition, that the store is clean, that the interior decorations are appropriate and of a good standard and ensuring that staff are polite and friendly. Quality is managed very carefully within the store. The floor manager is responsible for overseeing the operation as a whole and controls the managers from each section of the store. These managers in-turn oversee staff in their own section and control stock rotation, cleanliness of the isles and goods and ensure that all fixtures are maintained. This top-down approach to the operation ensures that quality is maintained successfully within the store. The next objective is speed – ensuring a short transaction time at the checkout and making products readily available is the only way that speed can be managed within the supermarket. A checkout manager controls the checkouts, increasing and reducing the number of staff on